Fathers Are Forever
by DarkJonerys
Summary: Archie knows that Hiram Lodge will never believe that he is good enough for Veronica, so he decides to take Hiram's advice. He may never be as close to Veronica as her father is, but he can certainly be a good father to her child. After all fathers are forever.


Archie knew he was sick when Jughead dropped off the package that he insisted had to be sent to Jug's trailer and bought under a fake name. He could tell from Jughead's scrutinizing expression that his friend knew that he was up to something. Luckily, he had some Serpent thing to deal with and left without asking any questions or inquiring what was sent to his house. Archie closed the door and didn't know whether to feel scared, excited, or guilty at what he was about to do.

He knew he was sick after he purposely brought his guitar to Veronica's house in order to gain an easy invitation into her bedroom. Her parents didn't mind as long as they were working on a duet, and Veronica never turned down an opportunity to sing with him. It was almost too easy as she lead him upstairs, and they settled on singing Britney Spears' "Toxic." His heart hammered in his chest as he excused himself in order to use her bathroom. As he flushed her pills down the toilet and quickly replaced them with the placebo pills that Jughead had unknowingly delivered, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Is everything alright, Archiekins?" Veronica asked as he came out of the bathroom. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"Yeah. I've never been better," he said and quickly changed his facial expression. He smiled as he sat next to her on the bed, and Veronica smiled back into his light brown eyes as he put his hand on her cheek. When their lips met, he knew that she was the only woman that he would want to spend the rest of his life with. Archie loved her and knew that this was going to be the only way that he would get to keep her. After all, Hiram Lodge had been the one to give him this advice.

He knew he was sick when he would plead for Veronica to stay the night at his house only so they could have sex. His dad worked late and was oblivious to what was going on in his house at night, so there was never the fear of getting caught. While there was always a thrill for him, Veronica got tired more often after the first round or two. She would fall asleep in his arms, while he prayed it would finally work this time because her father still wasn't warming up to him, and it was only a matter of time before the man could push him away from Veronica for good.

Archie knew he was sick when he had to do the same thing over again the next month, only this time he had sent the fake pills to Kevin, so Jughead wouldn't start getting suspicious. Kevin inferred it was some kinky stuff that Fred would not approve of, to which he happily obliged. If only he knew how screwed up Archie really was.

He was pissed when Veronica told him she was on her period, and that they would need to take a break from the intimacy for a few days. Veronica never questioned why he was in a fowl mood and just assumed it was stress. In reality, he felt like he was a failure. He felt as if this was nature's way of telling him that he wasn't good enough to be the father of Veronica's baby, so he would never be good enough for her.

He refused to believe that Hiram was right.

…

Veronica helplessly waited as Betty made her way over to the Pembrooke. She rarely invited her friends over because her parents often made people feel uncomfortable, but this was an emergency and she waited until her parents were out of the house. Betty always knew what to do in stressful situations, and she was in desperate need of her advice.

Betty was alarmed that the door swung open right as she rang the doorbell and had to take a step back.

"Oh V," Betty said as Veronica opened the door with tears streaming down her face. Her makeup was running down her cheeks, and she looked as if she had been crying for hours. "Come on let's get you cleaned up, and then you can tell me."

Betty guided Veronica into the house and let her lead the way to her bedroom. Veronica just awkwardly flopped on the bed as Betty looked for something to clean her makeup off. She found some wipes in the bathroom and wet a washcloth with cool water in order to reduce the puffiness around Veronica's eyes.

As Betty cleaned off her cheeks, she was shocked that Archie had dumped her, especially since they had gotten back together and things seemed to be going well between them. She would have to say a few choice words to him for breaking her best friend's heart.

"There," Betty said as Veronica hiccupped. She rubbed her arm soothingly. "All better."

"No, B, it's not!" Veronica said sobbing uncontrollably. Betty immediately regretted what she had said. "I'm so scared, B."

"Veronica, you know you can tell me anything right? I will always support you, and I will try to help out in any way that I can. If Archie hurt you, V, I will give him a piece of my mind," Betty said reassuringly.

"I'm- I'm pregnant, B," Veronica sobbed, and Betty immediately gathered her up into her arms. Even though she had so many questions, she just held Veronica and patted her head as the girl cried into her shoulder. Betty had been sure that Archie dumped her (unless he had because of the baby), but what Veronica was going through was worse than what she had anticipated. "I don't know what to do."

"Is it Archie's?" Betty asked as Veronica whispered a strangled yes. "Have you told him or your parents yet?"

"I can't. They would hate me,"

Betty sighed, knowing that it wouldn't be easy. Her parents weren't keen on the idea of Polly being pregnant, and her sister was older than they were. But they had come around in the end, even though Polly didn't seem to want anything to do with them. Now, she knew her mother would do anything to have Polly and the twins in their lives. Veronica was strong- stronger than Polly even, and Betty knew that she would find a way to have the baby, her parents, and Archie in her life if that's what she wanted. "Your parents might be mad for a while, but they could never hate you. And Archie most certainly is not the type of guy who will dump you. Honestly, they will probably hate Archie."

"My father will kill him," Veronica whimpered as she tried to wipe the tears out of her eyes. Betty chuckled darkly, not exactly sure how serious Veronica was about that last statement.

"You need to at least tell Archie, V. He needs to know, so you both can make a decision on what you want to do."

"I don't know what to do," Veronica said putting her hands on her face.

"I know," Betty said hugging her friend, "But you're Veronica Lodge, the V to my B, and I know that you and Archie will make the decision that is best for the both of you and little V."

…

A few days later, Veronica finally gathered up the courage to tell Archie after Betty kept insisting that needed to just get on with it.

When she finally got the words out, he immediately brought her into his arms as she cried. "I'm sorry, Archiekins. I must have forgotten to take some of my pills," she sobbed as he kissed the top of her head with a smile on his lips.

"No, Ronnie, it's my fault. You have nothing to be sorry for" he said with fake concern in his voice as he looked into her dark tear filled eyes. He put his hands on her cheeks. "I love you, Ronnie, and even though this is going to be difficult, don't think for a second that I will ever leave you."

He was always so chivalrous, and she knew he wanted to keep the baby without saying anything. It only made her cry harder, as she didn't know if she had the same aspirations regarding the baby. What if she regretted getting an abortion for the rest of her life or what if their baby never got adopted like Chic? What if keeping the baby meant she would have to live with Polly in her farm cult, and her child would have to be named Apple Andrews? She was sure Archie didn't feel the same doubts.

Archie was secretly jumping with joy. He had been hoping that he was successful, after Veronica never announced that she had gotten her period again. Also, Kevin was starting to ask what he had actually been ordering, and he could only say "inappropriate stuff" so many times before his friend actually opened the box.

"We have to tell our parents, Ronnie," Archie said cutting straight to the chase. He wondered how upset his father would be with him, but he didn't care. As long as he had Veronica, nothing else truly mattered.

"I know," Veronica said. She just didn't know if she could bear to see the disappointment in her parents' eyes. "My father will never approve."

"Whatever happens, I'll be with you the entire way," Archie said as she leaned her head on his shoulder. He thought about what her father had said to him, when he assumed that he would be just another one of Veronica's boyfriends.

" _Boyfriends, they come and they go, but fathers… fathers are forever."_

Archie thought that perhaps Hiram shouldn't have given him that piece of advice. He could never be Veronica's father, but he could be the father of Veronica's baby. Fathers are forever, and now not even the mighty Hiram Lodge could do anything to untie him from Veronica now.

 **Author's Note:** This is a little theory I have about the fathers are forever quote. What is the perfect way to tie Veronica to Archie: a baby. Now if it happens, It will probably be semi on accident, but you never know what's going through Archie's head.

Tell me your thoughts on this theory and if you want me to continue this story or leave it as a one shot in a review!


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